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Jack Lawrence
Jack Lawrence (April 7, 1912 – March 16, 2009) was an American songwriter. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1975. Jack Lawrence's music was recorded by the top names in the music business, leaving a long videography. Songs List: *Almost *All or Nothing at All *Beyond The Sea *Big Boy Blue *Boy Scout In Switzerland *Ciribiribin *Delicado *Do Me A Favor *Faith *Fickle Finger Of Fate *Foolin' Myself *A Handful Of Stars *Hold My Hand *Huckleberry Duck *I Had A Ball *If I Didn't Care *In An 18th Century Drawing Room *In The Moon Mist *It's Funny To Everyone But Me *Johnson Rag *Linda *Never Smile At A Crocodile *Once Upon A Dream *Pawnbroker Theme *Peter Pan *Play, Fiddle, Play *Poor People Of Paris *Rhapsody In Blue *Sleepy Lagoon *Star Dust *Sunrise Serenade *Symphony *Tenderly *Tuli-Tulip Time *Vagabond Dreams *What's Your Story, Morning Glory? *What Will I Tell My Heart? *With the Wind and the Rain in Your Hair (1930) *Yes My Darling Daughter Lawrence's work, often re-arranged, appears in numerous Jazz recordings. All of Lawrence's works have had recordings by legendary artists: *Nat Cole *Bing Crosby *The Andrews Sisters *Ella Fitzgerald *Tony Bennett *Billie Holiday *Frank Sinatra *Stan Getz *John Coltrane In fact, it would be difficult to name a star of the 30's through the 50's who had not sung or recorded one of Lawrence's songs. His music has touched every part of the world. During the Great Depression, Lawrence had hits like "With the Wind and the Rain in Your Hair which he wrote with composer Clara Edwards. The song became a hit over the subsequent decades as an instruemtnal jazz cover for Stan Getz as a ballad for Rhonda Fleming and as a late 50's rock ballad for singer Pat Boone. In the early 1940s Lawrence and several fellow hit makers formed a sensational review called "Songwriters on Parade", performing all across the Eastern seaboard on the Loew's and Keith circuits. One of Jack Lawrence's first major songs after leaving the service was "Yes, My Darling Daughter", introduced by Dinah Shore on Eddie Cantor's radio program. The song was Shore's first record. While Frank Sinatra was already a well-known big band singer, Lawrence's "All or Nothing at All" was Sinatra's first solo hit when ol' Blue Eyes was crooning for band leader Harry James. He subsequently had the song re-arranged by Nelson Riddle in the 1970s. John Coltrane recorded a cover of it. In 1946, Lawrence published a song he had written during his tour of duty in World War II. It was released in February 1947 and eventually spent 2 weeks at #1. He wrote it for the then-five-year-old daughter of his attorney, Lee Eastman: Linda Eastman McCartney, future first wife of Beatle Paul McCartney. The name of the song was "Linda". His song, "If I Didn't Care", introduced the world to the 1950's acapella group The Ink Spots. Lawrence also wrote the lyrics for "Tenderly", Rosemary Clooney's trademark song (in collaboration with composer Walter Gross, as well as the English language lyric to "Beyond the Sea" (based on Charles Trenet's French language song "La mer"), the trademark song for Bobby Darin. Another French song for which Lawrence wrote an English lyric was "La Goualante de Pauvre Jean", becoming "The Poor People of Paris". Together with Richard Myers he wrote "Hold My Hand", which was featured in the film Susan Slept Here and nominated for the 1954 Academy Award for Best Song. Jack Lawrence wrote the lyrics to: "Sleepy Lagoon" a popular hit by the Platters. The music to "Sleepy Lagoon " was written by Eric Coates in 1940. It was originally a hit for Harry James and his Orchestra in the early 1940s. His musicals have played Broadway and his film songs have come from every major Hollywood studio. His song "Hold My Hand" from the film "Susan Slept Here" was nominated for an Oscar in 1954. In the 1980's, Jack Lawrence was also actively engaged as a Broadway producer and theater owner. His two theaters in the Broadway district were named the "Jack Lawrence" and the "Audrey Wood" He was co-producer of off-Broadway's long running success, "Other People's Money" and on Broadway with "Lena Horne, The Lady And Her Music", and "Come Back To The 5 And Dime, Jimmy Dean" (which introduced Cher and Kathy Bates to Broadway and sent them on to screen fame. Along with his song writing he has had a varied and well-rounded career in the world of entertainment. In 1964 he wrote music and lyrics for the Broadway show "I Had A Ball" which was reissued by Decca Broadway in 2003. Jack Lawrence was born Jacob Louis Schwartz in Brooklyn, New York City to an Orthodox Jewish family of modest means as the third of four sons. His parents Barney (Beryl) Schwartz and Fanny (Fruma) Goldman Schwartz were first cousins who had run away from their home in Belaya Tserkov (Bila Tserkva, Ukraine) to come to America in 1904. Lawrence wrote songs while still a child, but because of parental pressure after he graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School, he enrolled in the First Institute of Podiatry where he received a doctoral degree in 1932. The same year, his first song was published and he immediately decided to make a career of songwriting rather than podiatry. That song, "Play, Fiddle, Play", won international fame. He became a member of ASCAP that year at the age of 20. Lawrence joined the United States Maritime Service during World War II and wrote the official song of the Maritime Service and Merchant Marine, "Heave Ho! My Lads, Heave Ho!" as a lieutenant in 1943, while bandleader at Sheepshead Bay Maritime Service Training Station in New York. Lawrence died on March 16, 2009 at age 96 after a |fall in his home in Redding, Connecticut.http://www.newstimes.com/latestnews/ci_11931828 Redding composer Jack Lawrence dies at 96; wrote "Beyond the Sea" Throughout the years, Lawrence's interest in creative arts led to his acquisition of an important collection of Greek, Chinese, Japanese, Luristan, Roman, African and Pre-Columbian artifacts which he found on his many trips around the world. Added to all this were significant paintings and sculptures by such artists as Georgia O'Keeffe, Jules Pascin, Ben Shahn, Kuniyoshi, John Marin, Charles Sheeler, Jacob Epstein, Charles Demuth, Diego Rivera, Tamayo, Stuart Davis, Lyn Chadwick, Morris Graves and William Harnett. He served on the board of the Whitney Museum of American Art and arranged tours of his art collection throughout the United States and Europe, including the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. Jack also discovered and sponsored the first New York showing of a Chilean artist Claudio Bravo, who has become internationally famous. Lawrence served on the board and is a charter member of Friends Of The Israel Museum along with another songwriter, Billy Rose. They helped create the incomparable National Museum in Jerusalem, where Jack's name is inscribed. His endowments have also benefited the Manhattan School of Music and in Connecticut, where he now resides, the Danbury Hospital and the Mark Twain Library. In a survey done by Public Radio in 2002 that concluded with a list of 100 of the most prestigious musical works of the past century, with such blockbusters as Star Dust and Rhapsody In Blue, Lawrence and Altman's "All or Nothing At All" (by virtue of the alphabet) led the list. That same year Michael Feinstein honored Jack in a tribute to his career at the Weill auditorium in Carnegie Hall and a best seller by Gottleib and Kimball titled "Reading Lyrics", included seven of Jack's songs. Other Professional Memberships For many years he has also held memberships in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, (Oscar Awards) and the Dramatist's Guild of America. Work on Broadway *''Follow Thru'' (1929) — musical; actor for the role of "Country Club Boy" *''Courtin' Time'' (1951) — musical; co-composer and co-lyricist with Don Walker *''Ziegfeld Follies of 1957'' (1957) — revue; featured lyricist for "Bring on the Girls" and "Music for Madame" *''Maybe Tuesday'' (1958) — play; co-producer *''I Had a Ball'' (1964) — musical; co-composer and co-lyricist *''Lena Horne: "The Lady and Her Music"'' (1981) — concert; co-producer *''Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean'' (1982) — play; co-producer *''The Golden Age'' (1984) — play; owner of the Jack Lawrence Theatre (formerly the Playhouse Theatre)http://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/25/theater/jack-lawrence-theater-is-sold-to-a-developer.html *''Quilters'' (1984) — musical; owner of the Jack Lawrence Theatre *''So Long on Lonely Street'' (1986) — play; owner of the Jack Lawrence Theatre * Jack Lawrence Official Website - Biography External links *Jack Lawrence biography * * * Category:Lyricists Category:Composers Category:Arrangers Category:Sinatra, Frank Category:Fleming, Rhonda Category:Getz, Stan Category:Coltrane, John Category:Darin, Bobby Category:Shore, Dinah Category:1912 births Category:2009 deaths Category:People from Brooklyn Category:Accidental deaths from falls Category:Accidental deaths in Connecticut Category:Songwriters from New York Category:Jewish American musicians Category:Jewish composers and songwriters Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Category:Lawrence, Jack